❦𝗪𝗲 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝗕𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲❦

❦Chapter 6❦

There was Natasha, a fiery-red haired girl with green eyes and a quick tongue, which never left a dull moment in her presence. She was Loki's personal maid.

There was also a girl named Wanda, with strawberry blonde hair, and eyes of blue. She was tall and fair, always kind. She was Thor's personal maid.

And lastly, there was a short-haired blonde, with dark brown eyes, and towered over the rest of the maids. Her name was Carol. She was witty, and had an ego that refused to be bumped down a notch, which was good, considering that she was the King's personal maid.

And of course, there's me. All of the girls were very kind, and exited to see me almost. They said that it had been a while since the Queen had a personal maid, and they always welcomed new faces.

They informed me that they had their own small dining room that branched off of the royal dining room, and that is where they always ate dinner together. Wanda explained to me that most times, they do not have time to stop and sit down for lunch, and most times breakfast is a roll, or whatever they can get from the cook before the trays come out for the royal family.

They also told me that their rooms were right across from mine. Natasha and Carol were in the rooms across from mine, and Wanda's was right next to mine.

By the time I had gone through a list of mock duties, it was beginning to get dark, and the other royal maids had assembled in their dining hall. I declined dinner tonight, and opted to visit Faline, I promised her I would, after all.

When I entered the medical wing, I was surprised to see Faline, not in her bed, but standing up and feeling her way around the rest of the wing. I helped her get back to her bed, and she told me that a maid had helped her to the restroom, and she couldn't find her way back.

There was already a tray of food waiting for Faline when e reached her bed, and she managed to scarf down the roll and the baby tomatoes, but needed my help cutting up the piece of mutton on her plate. I cut up the meat into small sizable pieces, and fed them to her with the fork. Faline was an expert in all things, except silverware. It makes sense, since I never had cutlery or anything at the house, we'd always use our hands. I'd stressed to her that we had to use forks, knives, spoons, etc. now that we were in the presence of royalty.

I spoon-fed her mashed potatoes, and when I was scraping up the last of it, I saw a figure enter out of the corner of my eye.

"Loki, hey." I greeted him as I fed Faline the last bite of mashed potatoes.

I put the piece of silverware down, and a grunt of frustration left Faline as she waited for the rest of her meal. I fed Faline the rest of her plate, with Loki standing at the window, his hands clasped behind his back.

"All done. You did good, Faline. That's the most food I've seen you pack down in a while." I smiled fondly and ruffled her hair, setting the plate on her bedside table.

"It was very delicious. Send my compliments to the chef." She smiled as her eyes began to droop.

"Get some sleep, Faline. I'll see you in the morning." I helped her get settled and pulled the duvet up over her, kissing her forehead before leaving her bedside.

I grabbed Loki's arm gently, and pulled him a few beds over so that we wouldn't wake Faline.

"What brings you here?" I spoke as I came to a stop by a window and looked out.

"I wanted to see how she was doing. Now I assume I will
Escort you back to your chambers." He smiled down at me as she joined me on the windowsill.

"You're very kind. She is healing quickly. Hopefully she'll be able to leave that blasted bed soon." I smirked as I looked out onto the gardens, my smile fading as loneliness seeped through. "It's been strange without her. She's slept in the same room with me since I was seventeen." I shrugged and looked at my feet, feeling childish.

"I cannot say that I understand, but the feeling of abandonment is stronger than any other feeling." He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, which I showed my gratitude by placing my hand over top of his.

"I know she didn't abandon me. It's the separation that scares me." I frowned as I removed my hand.

"I can talk to M- I mean, the Queen, and I'm sure that she can arrange for Faline to have a bed in your chambers as well."

"You'd do that?" I didn't even consider asking him about the strange slip-up.

"Yes, I would. It wouldn't be any trouble at all.......it's getting late, why don't I bring you to your chambers." His last sentence was not exactly a question, but more of an order, and we made our way out of the medical wing.

If I'd chanced a glance back at Faline, I would have seen that she wasn't asleep at all, but wide awake, and listening to Loki and I's conversation.

*****

Loki brought me to my chambers, and bid me a Goodnight as he made his way to his own room for the night.

As soon as I got into the room, I made my way to the conjoined bathroom to bathe myself, and to dress in a nightgown. When I went to hang my discarded dress back up, I was shocked to see that my closet was entirely filled to the brim with elegant dresses, ranging from casual, to royal ball in design.

I was also thoroughly pleased to see a couple pairs of trousers, and white cotton shirts to pair with them. My smile grew as I looked around the room, to see my satchel and sword laying on my bed. I hid my sword in my armoire/closet, and hung my satchel on a hook on the side of the cabinet.

I then made my way over to my bed, collapsing onto it and raising my brows in shock at how fluffy it was. I pulled the covers back and crawled under them, but I just couldn't seem to get comfortable. I tossed and turned for the majority of the night, and finally just drug all of my blankets off of the bed and made myself a pallet on the floor.

I fell asleep almost instantly.

FOOTNOTES:

(1) This is the dress, but without the shawl over top of it